Taoiseach Remains Confident In Irish Economy

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has told reporters in Dublin that he remains confident that Ireland's economic policies are strong enough to survive the current uncertainty in the global economy.

Although Mr Ahern told reporters that he was "concerned" about the current situation, he said that the Irish government was monitoring the situation closely and stressed that it was important not to overreact to the latest turbulence in the international markets.

The Taoiseach said that Ireland's economic policies were well thought out and very sound and could "deal with international volatility if we need to do so".

Mr Ahern's came as stocks plunged in value today at the New York Stock Exchange.

Earlier, the US Federal Reserve announced a 0.75 cut in interest rates, to 3.5%.

On Monday, trading in markets in Europe and North America had their worst day since the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, and there were also big losses on Asian markets.

There have been fears of a recession in the US, with the sharp downturn in the US economy being caused primarily by the US subprime mortgage crisis.

(KMcA)